Are neocons shooting themselves in the foot if they reverse Roe v. Wade?

Let’s face it, as with most of the legislation they propose, banning abortion will by and large hurt the poor. I’m the mother of three daughters, and if one of them ever needs an abortion, I would not hesitate to fly with them to Canada or Europe. I can tell you that most of my friends feel the same.

So, what you end up with is a lower class (generally Democrats) that will have more children...who will hopefully grow up to be Democrats.

Ah, the irony. If only it wasn't so damn sad.

If they ever prevail in the personal privacy debate, they will have lost the ability to divide and conquer.

--allowing ED pills to be covered by insurance, but not BC pills
--supporting abstinence only education only
--supporting pharmacies denying filling BC pill scripts
--denying choice to all women, evenvictims of incest, rape, and illness
--proposing legislation like Indianas "Authorized Reproduction" draft legislation
--cutting funding for higher education and for early education
--cutting funding for Headstart, newborn hearing screening.
--supporting ways to eliminate AA

shall I go on?

Probably they would prefer to have the issue to agitate their base of knuckle-draggers.

You are correct that the ban would hurt the poor. The well-to-do always have had and always will have means to deal with little Suzy's unfortunate problem.

And plus, what else would they have to get people to vote for them for? Gay marraige? Sooner or later people will stop voting for them just for that if they continue to be big spenders as they are.

The cost of the procedure will go up, and people from fundie states will be travelling to more liberal states to get what they cannot get legally in their own state.

People like Bill Frist will run on an antiabortion platform in a no choice state, while reaping profits from clinics in states that authorize the practice.

It's like birth control in Ireland, when everyone would take the ferry over to the UK and buy up all the condoms and come back home!

The anti-choice people view abortion as murder. They are saying it is illegal in the US to murder fetuses because those fetuses have a right to life just like you and me. Now I agree that states do not have to adopt the same policy/interpretation, but a Supreme Court ruling would make abortion a federal crime and there would be no escaping that in this country.

...they are just pandering to a certain segment of their supporters.
I truly don't think that most of those in power really, in their hearts have given this much thought. It's part of the repuke platform, and they just go with it, knowing it stirs people to action.

If they really cared about all of this they would've done it in the Reagan administration. They can continue to blame us and get fundies to vote for them who don't think for themselves and just blindly follow their "preachers" or people like Jerry Falwell. They quote a few Biblical verses here and there and ignorant people buy into it. If they would do research and think for themselves they'd know abortion has gone up since Clinton was out of office.

but if you aborted all black fetuses :sarcasm:

If it comes as a states-rights issue, well, it's off to Massachusetts or some other state for the procedure...

And actually bringing the case to the Supremes deprives the right of their favorite hotbutton issue. I sometimes think they prefer the threat of action to actual action. What would be left to motivate their base? Outlawing Queer Eye??

And then, there are the vast numbers of GOP dollars that are invested in these clinics. These guys view their funding stream as the essential thing that has a right to life, so they might not actually want the proposed change to actually happen.

If abortion is legal in a few states and criminalized in others the possibilities become incendiary. As the US returns troops home and the focus shifts to domestic issues the media will be looking for something rancorous to focus on and abortion may become a more visable political issue.

Most obviously, liberal charitable organizations will make an effort to help fund poorer women for the several hundred mile journeys they will have to make to excercise their right to choose. Anti abortion groups will try to shut down these avenues towards choice.

There could actually be situations where states place a young woman in "protective custody" to prevent her from leaving the state to have an abortion, especially if family members are trying to thwart her.

Women who leave their state and have a legal abortion elsewhere may return home to criminal charges.

Illegal abortions will once again occur and the health and legal situations that arise will be tragic.

I think both sides on this issue will become far more visable and active if abortion becomes legal or illegal on a state by state basis.

The interesting thing about privacy in terms of one's own body and medical issues is that there will be some intrepid legal minds who find a way to stick this issue on the GOP male's right to privacy--and then we'll see how many people really care about the little cell groupings that might become a human, or how many would vote to keep the courts away from their precious scrotal sacs or other bits and bobs...

I think the old "be careful what one wishes for" law of unintended consequences could rear its head...if the Supremes even deign to take the case. They may just wimp out totally, on a technicality, to keep that issue where the GOP thinks it belongs--smack dab in the center of partisan politics!

Why else hasn't Bush touched the issue yet? He could've done it already I think. Same when Reagan was president. They just pander to the fundies to get votes. Last time I looked 60-70% of the country is pro-choice so if the republican party ever wants to be in the White House again they won't touch it. They'd be handing the democrats the White House and they won't even be able to get away with stealing it. The republicans are just for corporations and making money. When it comes time for elections is when they say their few Bible verses.

While claiming to be "pro-family" their clinic made a fortune out of abortions.

their voters if they override roe vs wade. The homosexual issues are not as widely supported. I doubt if bushie will be stupid enough to make it possible. They have had this "good" issue years now and they will have nothing if they overturn it. That is the reason that I never believe a repub candidate when he/she claims to be pro-life.

They live and die by wedge issues. The more divisive they can be the better. It served them well all through the 80s, 90s and now half of this decade.

They'll kill Roe v Wade by stacking activist judges on the SCOUTS then start in on homosexuals. Their 'base' will cheer them on, they will happily keep thier 51% because it is the only way they can stay in power.

Like prohibition took the wind out of the sails of the temperance crusaders, overturning Roe v. Wade would do much the same to the RW fundies.

It's a teeny-tiny silver lining to a big dark cloud however.
There certainly would be a lot of unnecessary pain and death as a result of a national (or piecemeal) abortion ban. And it would probably take a generation until the backlash builds to the point that a ban is overturned.

to privacy in regards to their medical records and procedures. Over riding Roe means that the court says we have NO right to privacy (scary). Limbaugh in his fight to keep himself out of jail is claiming that the government has no right to see HIS medical records and that he has a right to privacy. But he opposes Roe. Its hypocrisy at its finest. Limbaugh deserves the right to privacy, but apparently everyone else in the country doesnt.

You saved me some typing. :)

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, they'll move on to more aggressive suppression of birth control methods and the distribution of information on birth control.

They'll also press harder on the criminalization of homosexuality, a return to classifying it as a psychiatric disorder.

And when they've reached those goals, they can start on the legistation for stoning anyone they don't like.

with the so-called pharmiscists not perscribing it like they're supposed to. It's their freakin job!

Where they want to outlaw pregnancy out of wedlock.

support is there.

hopefully during the upcoming class/sex/etc "war," my family and I MIGHT be able to retain some of our civil rights!

I think it would really back fire. Roe V Wade actually helps protect women who do need an abortion. These people who want Roe V Wade over turn think of nothing but themselves. They're very selfish in my opinion. While wanting to over turn Roe V Wade they're never going to do anything politically that could stop abortion such as the economy etc. :eyes:

Now days there is much more media coverage, and I would hope that at least some of them would cover stories of the horrible effect of banning abortions.